Utah Shoots… At Wrong Target

Utah Governor, Gary Herbert hailed the Utah Legislature’s passing of a law which would lower the drunk driving blood alcohol level threshold from .08 to .05, making Utah the lowest limit State. The Governor reassured Utah residents that the new limit would save lives. Hmmm.

Deaths due to drunk driving have risen in recent years to 45 in 2014 and then receded to 38 in 2015. In total there were 275 automobile accident deaths in Utah in 2015. Hmmm.

There certainly are no good reasons for any traffic deaths but if .05 is better, wouldn’t .04 be even better? Utah appears to be shooting for an ever smaller diminishing marginal return.

Utah, of course, has the right to put its efforts where it thinks best. But why would going from .08 to .05, or from 38 drunk driving deaths to say 25 or 30 (if the lower limits were to work) justify any effort when they have opioid induced deaths piling up at one per day, and no apparent plan to reduce? Hmmm.